Paradise Lost: If Netflix wrote the Bible --------> Osten

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Paradise Lost is very difficult to read as a political allegory. For the most part, I find myself getting upset because I feel like I'm reading the Bible but its some weird sequel rewrote by another author who didn't fully read the original and decided to do what they want with the characters. It's hard to rate this book at all because spiritually it's all over the place and I don't know enough history to understand who represents who. If the monarchs represent the demons and the Puritans represent the angels then who are Adam and Eve? Who is Jesus? And why is Jhon Milton so adamant about comparing us to Satan and getting us to have sympathy for him? Also, why is he so dumb? He continuously fights heaven and continually looses. Are these fights also an allegory to something in history? Is he referring to the several civil wars? All in all, this is a quite difficult book to read and more difficult to understand. Not only is it difficult to understand now but even back in his own day Milton received heavy backlash for his book. The question I would like to ask (apart from the several others) is, Did John Milton achieve his dream of writing a book on par or better than Virgil and/or Homer?



Edit: I commented on Jamie's & Madison's post

Comments

Rebecca Belew said…
I like the comparison of Milton's story to a Netflix original series in that they are both very confusing and originally unasked for. Neither are wanted, yet in this case, Milton's "Netflix Special" of a Bible story (although technically a political allegory), as in the case with many Netflix shows, open up the view point and create an atmosphere in which readers (and viewers) can relate to Biblical characters rather than viewing them as too ancient or too holy to compare one's person to.
September 2, 2019 at 2:51 PM
Breanna Poole said…
I don't think the political allegory is really cut and dry -- I think more of applicability is at play here. We can apply facts of history to this story Milton has weaved out of the Bible, but we can't always put in a square little box and say what it is. I do think Milton did mean for the wars of Satan and Heaven to be applicable to the wars he himself witnessed, but I don't think there is a right or wrong side to put either political and religious faction in those wars in.

And I do think Milton achieved his goal. This book has become pretty much the de facto poem when thinking of English literature (aside from Shakespeare, but he just simply wrote more works). Milton wrote something that clearly resonated with people, just like Virgil did.
September 2, 2019 at 5:22 PM
Caroline Tucker said…
I agree! When reading Paradise Lost, I keep relating the story to what happened in the Bible. I have to keep thinking about the book as a political statement NOT a portion of scripture. The hard thing about the questions you asked about the allegory (as of book six) is that it could go either way. So, the representation in the allegory is a matter of opinion. And yes, it really feels like a Netflix film.
September 2, 2019 at 8:47 PM
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